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Product Description:

Kenneth Branagh gives voice to Joseph Goebbels in this comprehensive four-part documentary that outlines some of the most fascinating and sinister aspects of Nazi Germany.

Description by First Run Features Home Video:

FIRESTORMAfter suffering heavy losses of aircraft during attacks on German factories, Winston Churchill orders cities to be targeted in order to smash German morale and reduce the number of workers available for the Nazi war machine. Hundreds of thousands of German civilians are killed as incendiary bombs turn Hamburg, Dresden and other cities into tornados of fire.Now, a new debate is underway over this lethal bombing campaign. Were these relentless aerial attacks on German cities, which killed so many and destroyed so much, a necessary tactic in the war against Hitler' Or was it an act of revenge by the Allies'Using rare film footage (much of it in color) and stirring interviews with historians, former bomber pilots and survivors of the destruction, this extraordinary film brings to light the devastating bombing campaign against Nazi Germany. THE REICH UNDERGROUNDWhile Germany sustained relentless bombing by the Allies, the Nazis undertook a bold gambit to turn the war back in their favor. Building an extensive tunnel system deep underground to house armament factories, Nazi leaders raced against time to produce the deadly new weapons they hoped would bring Germany final victory.Long forgotten after the victorious American Army sealed them off from intruders, the sprawling underground labyrinths are reopened for the first time in decades. Using previously unreleased film material and exclusive interviews, the story of the Underground Reich provides a glimpse into awesome worlds hidden beneath the earth. TELEVISION UNDER THE SWASTIKALegend has it that television began in the United States in the 1950s - but in reality its origins hark back much further. Nazi leaders, determined to beat Great Britain and the U.S. to be the world's first television broadcaster, began Greater German Television in 1935.Making use of film footage discovered in the catacombs of the Berlin Federal Film Archive, TELEVISION UNDER THE SWASTIKA is a fascinating look at the world's first television broadcast network. It explores both the technology behind this new medium and the programming the Nazis put on it. Interviews with high-ranking Nazis as well as "ordinary" people on the street, cooking shows, sporting events, cabaret acts and teleplays are some of the stunning finds seen here - propaganda yes, but quite entertaining, and required viewing for anyone interested in the history of television, the intersection of media and propaganda, and the inside story of Nazi Germany. THE GOEBBELS EXPERIMENTFrom The New York Times: "Arguably the most gifted of Hitler's henchmen, Joseph Goebbels was an enigmatic genius whose successful manipulation of mass political opinion was unprecedented. His rise to power, and that of the Nazi Party itself, will forever stand as one of history's most terrifying examples of the reach of propaganda, a tool with which Goebbels's name is virtually synonymous.In their fascinating documentary, the filmmakers provide a rare and chilling glimpse into a brilliant but toxic mind. Rejecting commentary, they allow Goebbels to speak for himself (in the voice of Kenneth Branagh), via the extensive diaries that he kept from 1924 to 1945. Rare clips from German film and television archives illustrate the readings. At a time when much of our news and entertainment media is controlled by a handful of corporations, THE GOEBBELS EXPERIMENT is a cautionary reminder that equal access to the machinery of ideas may be society's most critical goal."